From a Cedar Rapids Kernels press release ...

Tobin, former Kernels, sweep Angels' monthly awards

May 8, 2008 - RHP Mason Tobin was selected today as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's Organizational Pitcher of the Month for April. Tobin was 2-0 with no earned runs in 15 IP and pitched a complete game shutout in three starts. His next scheduled start is May 10th at Wisconsin.

Former Kernels Matt Brown and Brad Coon were named the Angels Player of the Month and Defensive Player of the Month, respectively.

Brown (CR 2003-04) batted .426 (43-101) with six home runs, 22 RBI, 10 doubles, three triples and 25 runs scored in 23 games at triple-A Salt Lake.

Coon (CR 2006) committed no errors in 57 total chances (55 PO/2 A) in 21 games at triple-A Salt Lake.

John Lackey pitched four innings Sunday.

Howie Kendrick had two singles in three at-bats Sunday.

Video of John Lackey and Howie Kendrick at Rancho Cucamonga yesterday is now online. Click Here to watch the video. You need Windows Media Player and a broadband (cable modem, DSL) Internet connection to watch. The video has a couple extras, including the players in a "flip" game before the contest, not unusual during pre-game warmups especially among the bullpen pitchers.

Lackey pitched four innings and threw about 70 pitches. Although his overall line looked good, he often fell behind in pitch counts. I kinda got the impression he's chomping at the bit, wanting to get back to the parent club. His main job is to increase his pitch count, not pitch "lights out" so to speak.

Kendrick had two singles in three at-bats. He left after the fifth inning because the Angels wanted him on the team flight to Kansas City.

The Bees suffered a rare loss last night in Memphis. They're now 24-3.

Center fielder Brad Coon has played in 25 games, and reached base in all of them. He did not have hits in five of those games. How did he reach base? He walked in three of them. The other two, he was hit by a pitch. The tough way to keep a streak going.

Coon was someone considered a sleeper when he was selected in the 15th round of the June 2005 draft. His speed and ability to reach base projected him as a prospect. At age 22+, he was quite old for Rookie-A Orem. He continued behind the age curve until this year. In 2007, he split the season between Rancho Cucamonga (.258/.344/.311 in 74 games) and Arkansas (.301/.372/.385 in 58 games). He figured to return to North Little Rock for 2008, but made the Salt Lake roster out of spring training. He's now 25 (DOB 12/11/82), so he's at a level more typical of his contemporaries.

Brad's AVG/OBP/SLG so far are .340/.438/.388. I'm usually not much of a fan of guys whose on-base percentage is higher than their slugging percentage, because singles hitters went out of vogue with the 1960s. But if the player is a base stealer, he effectively turns those singles and walks into doubles. Coon had a SB/CS ratio of 55/21 with Cedar Rapids in 2006, and a combined 56/21 ratio in 2007. In 2008 to date, he's at only 6:5, probably because he's seeing not only experienced catchers but he's also trying to swipe bags off pitchers who know how to hold a runner on base.

Of his 35 hits so far, only three are for extra bases -- two doubles and a homer. But he's also making contact -- he has a SO:BB ratio of 17:16 in 103 AB.

With four veteran outfielders, Reggie Willits and Juan Rivera ahead of him in Anaheim, I don't know how Brad projects into a future Anaheim roster. But you never know.

Quakes CF Peter Bourjos leads the Angels system in stolen bases this year with 17, with Kernels LF Jeremy Moore is right behind him at 15. Next is Kernels SS Andrew Romine at 13 and then Quakes LF Anthony Norman at 7.

John Lackey is still scheduled to make a rehab start Sunday at Rancho Cucamonga. Howie Kendrick's rehab was pushed back a few days after he felt some soreness working out in Anaheim. The latest media reports have him at Rancho sometime next week. The Quakes have Monday off, then host Inland Empire for three May 6-8 at The Epicenter.

Unless fate intervenes, I'll be at Rancho tomorrow to videotape Lackey's start. Look for highlights on FutureAngels.com sometime Sunday night or Monday.

The Milwaukee Brewers have designated Derrick Turnbow for assignment. He'd have to pass through waivers and then accept a minor league assignment, or he could take his free agency. Personally, I'd like to see the Angels claim him if they get the chance. The bullpen has been a bit thin so far and Turnbow grew up in the system after being claimed from Philadelphia during the December 1999 Rule 5 Draft. But I suspect someone else will claim him before the Angels get a shot, as waivers go in reverse order of winning percentage.

If you've been reading this blog over the last year, you know my wife and I have long-range plans to move to the Space Coast of Florida in about four years. Our next real estate scouting trip is tentatively planned for late August. I want her to experience the worst of the weather to be sure she can handle the heat, humidity and hurricanes.

I checked the Florida State League schedule to see if the Brevard County Manatees or Daytona Cubs might be home, and noticed their regular season schedules end with the month of August. Almost all the other full-season leagues traditionally end Labor Day weekend. Maybe it's because hurricane season starts around then. When Hurricane Frances blew through on September 5, 2004, it destroyed half the scoreboard at Space Coast Stadium and damaged the roof. Up the coast in Daytona, Frances and Hurricane Jeanne tore off the batting cage roof and most of the outfield wall signage, and collapsed the light towers.

Sure beats boring Southern California weather, doesn't it?

Whenever I tell a Californian about our Florida plans, inevitably the first thing they ask is, "What about the hurricanes?" But when I travel back east and tell people where I live now, inevitably the first thing they ask is, "What about the earthquakes?"

In closing ... As mentioned in earlier blogs, I'm busy this year with a political project so I don't have as much free time as usual. I'm still working on spring training photos, which you'll find in the FutureAngels.com digital photo gallery. Anyone can shoot an action shot; I prefer to capture images that have some sort of interesting subject.

Below are some images you'll find in the gallery. You can order reprints of any image on the site.

Angels Manager Mike Scioscia visited the minor league complex on March 17. He watched the bullpen thrown by pitcher Tommy Mendoza and caught by Hank Conger.

Ben Johnson catches a warmup pitch from Shane Loux before the Double-A spring training game on March 17.

Pitchers participate in a fielding drill.

Catcher Brian Walker shows some hustle chasing after a loose ball.

The main entrance to the minor league complex office.

My guilty pleasure is photographing baseball gear in its natural habitat. Nothing is posed. This shot has everything -- bat, glove, shoe, jacket with team logo.

How many teams could absorb losing two pitchers the caliber of John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar, and lose a future batting champion in Howie Kendrick, yet end the month with the best winning percentage in the American League?

That's what the Angels accomplished in April.

Once again the Angels showed the wisdom of keeping their prospect depth instead of flushing the farm for some "name" veteran. The Angels survived injuries quite nicely, thank you very much, because they didn't dump their future for the "big bat" quick-fix demanded by certain fans and sportswriters last winter.

Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana, two young arms certain fan forum posters wanted shown the door, finished April 5-0. Saunders had a 2.08 ERA in 43.1 IP, while Santana had a 2.48 ERA in 40.0 IP.

Casey Kotchman, the "injury-prone singles hitter" some people wanted gone and the sooner the better, finished the month among the league leaders in home runs with six. Casey's AVG/OBP/SLG were .344/.406/.594. He found himself batting cleanup for a couple games at month's end.

Jeff Mathis, another target of fan tirades, showed outstanding defense and his bat finally came around enough to bat .298/.320/.553 in April. Jeff split time behind the plate with Mike Napoli, who was never projected as a top prospect but worked hard to make himself a big-league starting catcher.

Erick Aybar asserted himself to take the full-time starting shortstop job. Erick finished April at .318/.330/.375 and, as I'm writing this, just hit his first homer of the year.

Lackey finished April simulating spring training in a series of minor league rehab starts. He was lights out -- literally -- for Rancho Cucamonga at Lancaster Tuesday night, as the right-field light standards failed after his third inning of work. Lackey went to the bullpen and threw another 20 pitches to get up to his desired pitch count for the night. His next start is Sunday afternoon at Rancho Cucamonga; if circumstances permit, I'll be there to film video for the FutureAngels.com web site.

Howie Kendrick suffered a hamstring pull early in the month, but the Angels survived with both Aybar and Maicer Izturis for infield depth. When Izturis was hurt with a lower back strain, they called up Sean Rodriguez for his major league debut, then brought up Brandon Wood and Matt Brown to give them some exposure at 3B with Chone Figgins moving over to 2B. Kendrick was scheduled to make a minor league rehab appearance tonight with Rancho Cucamonga and may be activated Friday.

And when first Jeff Mathis and then Mike Napoli were felled by the flu, up came Bobby Wilson as a backup catcher. Bobby got one at-bat and singled for his first major league hit.

All that promoted talent came from Salt Lake. What happened to them? Funny you should ask ...

The Triple-A Salt Lake Bees finished April at 23-2, believed to be a minor league baseball record for best start ever. Salt Lake won their first eight on the road, lost their home opener, then won another thirteen in a row before losing on the road at Memphis.

I wrote about the Bees on Sunday, so I won't repeat that column other than to note that starters Shane Loux and Giancarlo Alvarado, two pitchers whose careers were rescued from the scrap pile, finished April with respective ERAs of 2.05 and 2.60.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Double-A Arkansas Travelers got off to a miserable start at 9-17. The Travs lost their first seven in a row, then went 8-3, then went on a new skid losing six in a row. Arkansas finished April with a .230 team batting average (7th in the Texas League) and 15 HR (8th in the Texas League). The pitching was a bit better; their 4.18 team ERA was fourth in the eight-team league. The Angels shook up the roster early in the month, releasing outfielder Jordan Renz and pitcher Von Stertzbach, while signing former Travs infielder Adam Morrissey from independent ball, and minor league free agents Dan Denham and Jordan Czarniecki.

Quakes fans rightfully expected a post-season contender with all the prospects headed for Rancho Cucamonga, but injuries derailed that train. Catcher Hank Conger suffered a slight labrum tear in his right shoulder and remained in spring training, along with second baseman Ryan Mount and third baseman Matt Sweeney who were also injured. That sapped much of the offense, but there's no explaining what happened to what I expected would be the league's top starting rotation.

2007 Angels Minor League Pitcher of the Year Sean O'Sullivan finished April with a 5.60 ERA, Trevor Bell was at 6.14, David Herndon at 7.29, and Amalio Diaz at 5.79. Only Tommy Mendoza had a respectable ERA at 2.89. Overall, the Quakes finished April at 8-18, losing 13 of their last 15.

The Quakes did have a few bright spots. Peter Bourjos stole 17 bases in 18 attempts; if he stays healthy and spends the entire season at Rancho, he could reach 75 SBs at that pace. Anthony Norman was promoted to Rancho after one game at Cedar Rapids, and finished the month at .294/.429/.500 with 7 SBs.

The Kernels finished April at a respectable 14-11. Their .232 team AVG was 11th in the 14-team Midwest League, but their 3.41 team ERA was sixth in the league. 1B Efren Navarro had the best offensive numbers at .320/.416/.453. Top pitching prospect Jordan Walden had a 2.83 ERA in five starts with a 25:9 SO:BB ratio in 28.2 IP. Mike Anton's ERA was 2.84, Mason Tobin was 1.23, Robert Fish was 3.47, and Trevor Reckling was 4.01. Closer Ryan Brasier had a 1.20 ERA with a 13:7 SO:BB ratio in 15.0 IP.

May began with Nick Adenhart getting an unexpected callup to fill an Angels' rotation slot until John Lackey returns mid-month. Nick didn't look like his usual confident self, and left in the top of the 3rd after he was roughed up for five runs. It may have been a bit early to call up the talented 21-year old, who according to the Angels broadcasters is now the youngest starting pitcher currently in the majors.

What's next, Roy Hobbs driving a two-strike pitch into the lights?

The Bees were losing 8-7 to Fresno Saturday as they headed into the bottom of the 9th. Their eleven-game winning streak was on the line, and faced the possibility of losing their second game in 21 contests.

Terry Evans led off with a walk. After pinch-hitter Kendry Morales popped up, Sean Rodriguez hit a grounder to short that forced Evans but Sean beat the throw. Reggie Willits came to the plate. Rodriguez stole second, but Willits was down two strikes.

Broadcaster Steve Klauke said the outfield was playing shallow, assuming Willits' pop-gun bat was more likely to hit a single than a deep fly ball, and they could keep Rodriguez from scoring.

But this is Salt Lake City, at an elevation of 4,500 feet. I've seen pop flies carry for home runs.

Reggie hit a fly ball to center. Klauke's voice over the webcast sounded like it was routine, but the ball kept carrying. It landed behind the center field, and Rodriguez raced for home.

Game tied, 8-8.

In the bottom of the 10th, Matt Brown walked with one out. After Brandon Wood popped out, Dee Brown walked to move up Brownie to second base. Terry Evans drove a line drive to right, Brown scored, Bees win 9-8.

And now they're 20-1.

The keeping of minor league statistical records is somewhat less reliable than major league stats, so no one really knows if this is the best start ever by a minor league team, but it's certainly one of the best. In the ten years I've been covering the Angels' minor leagues, I can't recall any full-season team with this good a run. Some of Tom Kotchman's teams in Boise, Provo and Orem may have had hot mid-season runs, but I doubt any went 20-1.

The Bees' only loss was their home opener, 11-9 to Portland. They won their first eight games on the road, and since that lone loss have now won twelve straight.

Looking at Minor League Baseball's statistics portal, here's where individual Bees stand relative to the rest of the minor leagues.

• Matt Brown is 8th in the minors in AVG at .419.
• Brandon Wood is tied for #2 in the minors in HR at eight (one behind the leader).
• Brown is #1 in runs scored (24), and Brad Coon is #2 (22).
• Brown is #1 in total bases (73).
• Brown is #3 in hits (39).
• Brown is tied for #6 in doubles (10).
• Brown is #1 in extra-base hits (19).
• Brown is #4 in slugging percentage (.785) and Sean Rodriguez is #15 (.696).
• Jose Arredondo is tied for #2 in saves (7).
• Freddy Sandoval is #6 in AVG for switch-hitters (.385).

Clearly it's been the Matt Brown show.

Brownie has flown under the radar as a prospect. He didn't make the Baseball America Top 30 Angels prospects for 2008. In fact, he's never made the Top 30 list. A 10th round pick in the June 2001 draft, his career minor league numbers are decent enough -- AVG/OBP/SLG of .265/.347/.449 -- but never seemed to grab the spotlight.

I was aware of Matt, of course, and every November when I wrote the annual FutureAngels.com Top 10 Prospects report he was in the back of my mind. But my two concerns were his high strikeout rate, and a tendency to be hot-headed at times on the field. He's struck out over 100 times in his last four seasons, while drawing less than 50 walks each year. But he also hit 73 homers during that period, which for his age and level were impressive enough to deserve more attention than he's been given.

Matt received a brief callup to Anaheim in 2007, and was briefly with the Angels earlier this month. He turns 26 in August, so he's right about where he should be in terms of career development. With less talented organizations, he'd be in the majors now.

Credit should also be given to whomever found Shane Loux and Giancarlo Alvarado.

Loux was a Detroit Tigers' 2nd round pick in the June 1997 draft. He reached the majors with Detroit for parts of the 2002 and 2003 seasons, but was released after the 2004 season. Loux underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2005, then signed with the Kansas City Royals and pitched for them as a reliever at Triple-A Omaha in 2006. And was released.

Marty Renzhofer of the Salt Lake Tribune tells the rest of the tale. Shane was a high school coach in 2007, but was signed by the Angels in November after a Tempe workout at the end of fall instructional league. Angels farm director Abe Flores told me that scout John Gracio deserves the credit for bringing in Loux for a look-see.

Loux may have been no more than a blip on the radar. Alvarado wasn't even on the radar.

Giancarlo was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1995 at age 17 out of Puerto Rico. He never played higher than Double-A, and bounced around in independent ball for a couple years. Nevertheless, his career minor league numbers aren't bad -- 3.81 ERA, 755:379 SO:BB ratio in 778.0 IP, a 1.42 WHIP.

Alvarado spent 2007 in the Mexican League with Saltillo, where he was 7-1 with a 3.09 ERA. In 75.2 IP, he had a 70:24 SO:BB ratio and allowed only two homers.

I asked farm director Abe Flores how the Angels found him. He said that former Angel Eduardo Perez saw Alvarado during winter workouts in Puerto Rico and recommended him to Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher. Alvarado isn't even in the Angels' media guide, which shows you how late he was signed.

If John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar hadn't been hurt, maybe Loux and Alvarado don't even have a job. Either Joe Saunders or Ervin Santana would have been in Triple-A, and Dustin Moseley would be in the bullpen forcing another arm back to Salt Lake.

The Angels are currently 15-10, tied with Oakland for the best record in the A.L. (a score that will be settled with their upcoming four-game series in Anaheim starting Monday). With the Triple-A team playing so well, the parent club seems set for the foreseeable future.

I'm in a Bakersfield motel killing time until I have to go to a day-job assignment, so here are some random thoughts ...

Casey Kotchman and Jeff Mathis homered in the Angels' 7-6 loss last night at Boston. Both have been frequent targets of self-proclaimed experts on Angels fan boards who have claimed Kotchman and Mathis are "busts." Kotchman, according to these experts, is "an injury prone slow-running singles hitter who will never amount to anything." Mathis, they say, is "a mediocre catcher who will never hit."

Casey's AVG/OBP/SLG for 2008 are .315/.359/.575.  Among AL first basemen with at least 25 AB, he's tied for #2 in HR, #2 in AVG, #7 in OBP, and #1 in SLG.

Jeff's AVG/OBP/SLG for 2008 are .379/.387/.759.  Among AL catchers with at least 25 AB this year, he's #1 in AVG, #2 in OBP and #1 in SLG.

So where are those experts now?

Probably gone back to rag on Garret Anderson.

Hank Conger arrives this Saturday at Rancho Cucamonga, but it's not what you think.  The Quakes are holding a Korean-American Night.  Hank will be there to sign autographs.  Of course, when they first thought up this promotion, they assumed Hank would be on the active roster.  Hopefully that won't be too much longer.

John Lackey will make three rehab starts with the Quakes, starting tomorrow night at home.  His second start will be April 29 at Lancaster, and the third start is Sunday May 4 at Rancho.

The Lancaster road starts pays back a little cosmic karma.  In July 2003, Randy Johnson made a rehab start for the Diamondbacks with Lancaster at Rancho.

If you're wondering why Lack won't make at least one rehab start at Triple-A Salt Lake, the answer is they'll be on the road back east.  That second start would be at Memphis, and the third start would be at Nashville.  So the Angels will keep him close to him and monitor his progress.

Some organizations prefer to have a rehabbing pitcher work his way up the organization ladder -- one start at Class-A, one start at Double-A, one start at Triple-A, etc.  I guess they believe the increasingly experienced competition is a measurement of the pitcher's rehab progress.  But an experienced pitcher like Lackey already knows what he needs to do.  He just needs innings.  He's not going out there to blow someone away, so even if he mows down a Double-A lineup or Triple-A lineup it won't mean much if he hasn't worked his way back to major league caliber.  That comes from repetition.  The baseball people can see whether his stuff is sharp or not, regardless of who's at the plate.

Someone finally found a way to stop the 17-1 Salt Lake Bees last night.  They were rained out at Portland.

Speaking of Salt Lake ... In an earlier blog, I observed that the local papers seem to give the Bees a low priority. I observed that the Deseret News didn't even have the Bees on their sports menu. Well, someone must have read what I wrote because now the Bees are on the far right. But if you look down the list of headlines on today's sports page, the Bees are below stories about the NBA Utah Jazz, the University of Utah gymanstics team, high school soccer, BYU volleyball, high school baseball, high school basketball, high school softball, wrestling, golf, and the Real Salt Lake pro soccer team. Sure, the Bees got rained out last night, but it's pretty much this way every day.

So as I wrote earlier, why alienate one of the few people who gives them free publicity?

Off to my day-job assignment, and then back home tonight to Orange County.

Field of Dreams is generally considered not only as an iconic baseball film, but an iconic Iowa film.

But a new movie may knock Field of Dreams off that second pedestal.

The Final Season is based on the true story of the Norway, Iowa high school baseball team that won the state baseball title in the final year of the school's existence. The film was shot entirely in Iowa, including the actual school and field in Norway.

Co-starring as a location in the film is Veterans Memorial Stadium, the Cedar Rapids Kernels' home ballpark. The events of the film occur in 1990-91, when the "Old Vet" still existed. The championship games are played at the "New Vet," which opened in 2002. Scenes are shot in the Vet's dugout and clubhouse.

I can't speak for the people who actually live in Iowa, but as an occasional visitor who's driven through those small rural Iowa towns, it was extremely authentic for me.

Click Here to visit the movie web site.

Click Here to visit the Norway Baseball web site.

I found the movie with a companion documentary DVD for $20 at Sam's Club.

If you're a regular reader of FutureAngels.com, you know I've been writing about the early history of the Angels' minor leagues, in particular the inaugural 1961 season.

Last winter, one of the stalwarts of the Angels' 1970s minor leagues contacted me. Darrell Darrow was drafted out of Long Beach City College in 1970. Except for 1977-78, he was a second baseman in the Angels system for the entire decade, returning for one final season in 1979.

Darrell contacted me to find out if what someone told him was true, that he holds the record for most career triples in the Angels minor leagues. He hit 48 triples in his Angels career. Although I haven't researched the entire history of Angels minor league baseball, my anecdotal research seemed to indicate he does hold the record.

Then I found out that Darrell has another link to Angels history.

Those of us growing up with Angels baseball in the 1960s remember ads for Home Run Park, a batting cage on Beach Boulevard in Anaheim not far from Knott's Berry Farm. It was marketed as Jim Fregosi's operation, but the truth was the real owner was friends with Fregosi and licensed the name. Fregosi was rarely there, but the ads in the Angels scorebooks and on the radio led us to believe that if we went by we would certainly see Jim teaching youngsters to play ball.

Darrell now runs the batting cages for the current owner, and teaches hitting there. Former Angels pitcher Clyde Wright has a bullpen in the back where he teaches pitching.

Yesterday I went to Home Run Park to record an interview with Darrell. We also videotaped a walking tour of this historic complex. As Darrell notes, Home Run Park has been used over the years by many of Orange County's most prominent professional ballplayers.

If you have a broadband Internet connection (cable modem or DSL), Click Here to watch the video interview which runs about an hour. Click Here to take the Home Run Park tour.

If you don't have broadband, Click Here to listen to an audio-only version of the interview. You need Windows Media Player for all the links.

Click Here to visit the Home Run Park web site.

OC Metro, an Orange County business magazine, has a cover story on Tony Reagins. Click Here to read the article. The link is only good until the next edition, as it's a generic link for the current issue's cover story.

Buried in the article is a reference to FutureAngels.com.

Some skeptics weren't so confident Reagins had the right stuff. He never played pro baseball like Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, who was thought to be a contender for the top spot, let alone college or high school. "Without a strong background," a FutureAngels.com blogger speculated the day after his appointment, "Reagins may feel he needs to make a splash with some sort of spectacular move that gets him headlines for a few days, but in the long run, may harm the organization's long-term interests."

Click Here to read the original referenced article published on October 16, 2007.

Reagins fortunately has continued to follow the model established by his predecessor. Rumors to the contrary, Tony has yet to trade away top prospects for a quick fix. Whether he's tried, just as whether Bill Stoneman ever tried, we'll never know since neither ever says anything public about rumors. I'm just glad that Reagins has kept young talent like Casey Kotchman, Jeff Mathis, Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and more who are now contributing on the major league level. Brandon Wood and Nick Adenhart are right behind them, along with Matt Brown, Sean Rodriguez, Bobby Wilson, Terry Evans and a bunch of other Salt Lake Bees.

Down the line are Jordan Walden, Sean O'Sullivan, Hank Conger, Peter Bourjos and plenty more.

The only error in my opinion was the paperwork foulup that led to the loss of Warner Madrigal. Otherwise, Tony has kept a good thing going.

Today's Los Angeles Times reports:

With second baseman Howie Kendrick sidelined by a hamstring strain and reserve outfielder Reggie Willits getting very little playing time, the Angels might send Willits to triple-A Salt Lake to get some at-bats and recall a player such as Brandon Wood or Matt Brown to give them some infield coverage until Kendrick returns.

I asked Angels farm director Abe Flores what I could tell people about the rehab status of Hank Conger, Ryan Mount, Matt Sweeney and Chris Pettit. He said all four should be ready to play no later than the end of the first half. The Angels are usually tight-lipped about such matters, so that's actually more than I expected to hear and I suspect some of those guys will be activated sooner than mid-June. It's also good news about Pettit, as early reports had him out for the year with a broken foot. Abe said they'd know more about Chris once he starts his rehab at Tempe but for now it looks like he might be active by the time the second half starts.

Today's Orange County Register has more on Conger:

The minor-league season is two weeks old, but the Angels' top draft pick in 2005, catcher Hank Conger, remains at their extended spring camp in Arizona. Conger is one month into a rehabilitation program to treat a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

Conger is hitting without discomfort but is only allowed to do light throwing so far. The Angels are optimistic that surgery will not be necessary and Conger will be able to start his season in early June.

"With Dr. (Lewis) Yocum, surgery is never the first option," said Angels director of player development Abe Flores, referring to the Angels' team orthopedist.

Chris Bootcheck made his second rehab appearance last night, throwing the last two innings of the Quakes' loss at Bakersfield. Boot gave up an unearned run on a hit and two walks, while striking out three.